The history of the Salon, the juried exhibitions that defined European art trends from the 17th through the 19th centuries, can be told from the perspective of the artists who were included — or, if you want a juicier story, the artists who were left out.
None other than Édouard Manet had his painting “Luncheon on the Grass” (1863), now a textbook example of early Impressionism, rejected by the official state-sponsored show that year and displayed instead in the novel Salon des Refusés alongside pieces by hundreds of other “rejects,” including Gustave Courbet, Paul Cézanne, and James Whistler.
More than a century and a half later, history repeats itself as the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) in Red Hook prepares to proudly showcase many of the works that didn’t make the cut for a popular open call at the Brooklyn Museum that drew over 4,000 entries. Embodying the ethos of alternative exhibitions like the late-19th century Salon des Indépendants, whose slogan “without jury nor reward” touted an inclusive, come-one-come-all approach, admission into the Salon des Refusés 2024 involves simply sending in one’s rejection letter.
Other than that, the only requirements are a maximum of one artwork per person, no larger than four by six feet, and a fee of $20 “to help keep the lights on, because our electricity bill is astronomical,” said BWAC President Alicia Degener, who is co-curating the show with member Janet Morgan.
“We didn’t want people to get rejected twice,” Degener told Hyperallergic.
She said entries are still trickling in long past the August 7 deadline and that the exhibition, on view from September 21 through October 13, will include works by over 200 artists — nearly as many as will be featured in the Brooklyn Museum’s show opening a few weeks later. Among them are Meridith NcNeal’s meticulously rendered watercolor of a witchy shop in Bushwick, a 90-minute film by Risha Gorig, Juan Pinto’s collage portrait of critic Jerry Saltz made out of metrocards, and a painting by Nancy Rodrigo titled “Nipple Eyes,” which is exactly what it sounds like.
“It’s going to be a very eclectic show and tricky to curate with no real theme, but we love a challenge,” said Degener, who is accustomed to working on the fly and collaborating closely with local groups such as Park Slope Windsor Terrace Artists and Arts Gowanus. In addition to mounting 15 shows a year, the artist-run organization also hosts a Maker’s Market and an end-of-summer potluck.
“We’re all in this together and we’re not competing against each other,” Degener continued. “We’re just super excited to give this space to artists so that they can be seen.”
Participating artist and Bedstuy resident Claire Corey reiterated the sense that BWAC’s exhibition would expand on the Brooklyn Museum’s show. Together, she said, the two presentations “will truly enforce how many wonderful artists live and work in Brooklyn.” She will be showing “Zombie Urchins” (2023), a stoneware piece inspired by the work of French Huguenot potter Bernard Palissy that alludes to the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
A poster for the exhibition designed by BWAC member Jonathan Fischer features a fuchsia thumbs-down symbol against a loud yellow background. The image is anything but understated, a gesture of embracing rather than fearing rejection. And why should it be otherwise? After all, getting snubbed by the art world is a rite of passage. In 1917, for example, the Society of Independent Artists in New York refused to show a certain “readymade” sculpture by Marcel Duchamp … perhaps you know it.
A complete alphabetized list of artists included in Salon des Refusés 2024 appears below.
Hilda Abla
Malin Abrahamsson
Natale Adgnot
Zanib Ahmad
Anna Alfredson
Santina Amato
Audrey Anastasi
Walter Andersons
Claudine Anrather
Judi Aronson
Shayma Aziz
Adriana Baker
Joe Banish
Stephen Barber
Judith Barnes
Joseph Barral
Jeff Bartell
David Barthold
Etan Ben-Ami
Jocelyn Benford
Stacy Bergener
Linda Berkowitz
Taylor Bielecki
Melanie Brock
Noel Caban
Braden Caldwell
Lloyd Campbell
Pamela Casper
Carolina Castillo
Sandra Cavanagh
Cynthia Clark
Julia Cocuzza
Naomi Cohen-Thompson
Lynn Cole
Claire Corey
Caroline Curtin
Stefanie Demas
Phil Desantis
Michael DeSiano
Jan Dickey
Carole d’Inverno
Frank Ditto
Julie Ditto
Jim Donahue
Chuck Dorr
Keith Duquette
Kathleen DuSauzay
Melissa Eder
Steve Ettlinger
Hayley Ferber
Jen Ferguson
Vanessa Fischer
Naomi Frank
Stephanie Franks
Faith Gabel
Marie Gagnon
Liz Galvin
Karen Gibbons
Sandra Giunta
Risa Glickman
Rachel Goldsmith
Amaia Gomez Marzabal
Risha Gorig
Susan Grace
Ed Grant
Susan Greenstein
Barbara Groh Wahlstrom
Susan Handwerker
Garfield Harry
Elizabeth Hickey
Daina Higgins
Katherine Hill
Callie Hirsch
Eileen Hoffman
Judith Eloise Hooper
Indiana Hoover
Amy Hutner
Danielle I Warren
Jill Inbar
Julian Jackson
Susan Jacobs
Katrina Jeffries
Kisha Johnson
Marilyn Kaggen
Barbara Kaminsky
Shushanik Karapetyan
Katherine Keltner
Irena Kenny
Anki King
Eileen Kinigstein
Sara Klar
Ariel Kleinberg
Soumiya Krishnaswamy
Eugene La Rochelle
Sue-Ann LaCasse
Sinae Lee
Jess Levey
Kathy Levine
Iris Lipner
Robert Lurz
Rene Lynch
Darcy Lynn
Miranda Maher
Karen Mainenti
Laura Marotta
Erin Mathewson
Tiziana Mazziotto
Caroline McAuliffe
Daniel McDonald
Janice McDonnell
Tracy McFarlane
Meridith McNeal
Elizabeth Meggs
Nina Meledandri
Christine Mendoza
Robyn Mierzwa
Cindy Millin
Zoe Moldenhauer
Janet Morgan
Amy Morken
Sharilyn Neidhardt
Jessica Nissen
Akane Ogura
David Ort
Jan Orzeck
Lauren Packard
Bill Page
Nicholas Papadakis
Carolanna Parlato
John Paul
Marina Pavlutskaya
Janet Pedersen
Julie Peppito
Jay Perez
Richard Perkins
Quimetta Perle
Scott Pfaffman
Juan Pinto
Susanna Plotnick
Stephanie Powell
Donna Powers
Bonnie Ralston
Sonia Redfern
Mari Renwick
Sandye Renz
Monica Rich
Sally Rifkin
Joyce Riley
Jean Rim
Marie Roberts
Nancy Rodrigo
Robin Roi
Margaret Rooney
Susan Rostow
Joshua Rubin
Owen Sagerman
Debra Salomon
Janie Samuels
Larry Scaturro
Barbara Schaefer
Miriam Schaer
Jessica Schulman
Nicole Schulman
Andrew Schwartz
Adam Segal-Isaacson
Sasha Silverstein
Sonita Singwi
Carri Skoczek
Howard Skrill
Sam Smouha
Michael Sorgatz
A.J. Springer
Duane Stapp
Eliza Stamps
Bonnie Steinsnyder
Giustina Surbone
Liz Sweibel
Syma
Sandra Taggart
Traci Talasco
Linda Tharp
Shira Toren
Marsha Trattner
Pamela Turczyn
Deborah Ugoretz
Therese Urban
MG Vander Elst
Edin Velez
Brad Vogel
Madeline Weibel
Marlene Weisman
Jessica Weiss
John & Wendy
Dale Williams
Ella Yang
Kristin Ying
Ward Yoshimoto
Fen Youmans
Cindy Zaglin
Melissa Zexter
Rusty Zimmerman
Alice Zinnes
Kasia Zurek-Doule
